From vehicle manufacturing, particularly from automobile construction, arm rests are known which are installed at a seat or else at a seat bench. Generic arm rests are also equipped with a drinking vessel holder. Said drinking vessel holders, frequently also referred to as cup holders, are utilized in particular for enabling vehicle occupants to deposit drinking vessels, such as cups, bottles or cans in a simple and secure fashion. As a matter of course, such arm rests with drinking vessel holders can equally be employed in other means of transport, such as airplanes, rail vehicles or ships.
Arm rests with drinking vessel holders known from the state of the art exhibit the characteristic feature that the drinking vessel holder is joined to the arm rest in the form of a module. For the drinking vessel holder, in turn, a plurality of different holder types are known from the state of the art. These holders are generally composed of a base support, a circular receptacle, a bottom and retaining elements which serve to fix the drinking vessel to be accommodated and to ensure a secure hold. For this purpose, a spring force acts upon the holder.
In this context, document DE 100 43 720 A1 discloses a drinking vessel holder with three retaining elements. The retaining elements are joined to the receptacle via a rotational axis. With the aid of a tension spring, the retaining elements are pushed into the direction of the center of the receptacle via an appropriate kinematic mechanism, thusly obtaining the secure fixation of the beverage container. The complicated kinematic mechanism required in this embodiment for generating the relevant retaining forces proves to be problematic.
Document EP 1 426 233 A1, pertaining to a holder for a beverage container, discloses a comparable approach, wherein appropriate retaining elements are likewise pushed against the bottle in response to a spring force. In analogy with the afore-cited document, in this case a base support is required, which features appropriate spring elements attached thereto, these spring elements in turn having suitable retaining elements attached thereto.
A state of the art closely associated with the present invention is disclosed in document DE 296 06 583 U1, wherein it has been achieved for the first time to simplify the generation process of the spring forces to be applied. Here, the beverage container is composed of a receptacle which has a plurality of retaining elements attached thereto. These retaining elements in turn are mounted at a rotational axis and are pushed into the direction of the center of the container by means of an elastic ring enclosing the receptacle. Hence, a comparatively simple construction is available, wherein the spring forces can be applied in a secure and simple manner.
Referring back to the function of the arm rests, rigid arm rests and arm rests being swivelable into different positions are known from the state of the art. All of these arm rests provide the function of adequately enhanced convenience on the part of the person using the seat.
This aspect is of particular relevance in the case of swivelable arm rests which are provided for integration in a back seat bench, wherein said arm rests form a part of the back rest when in the swiveled-up position. In this regard, it is common practice to make provision for an adequate foam padding in case of suitable arm rests which at the same time fulfill the function of a back rest. In particular in this case of application, the integration of a suitable drinking vessel holder proves to be problematic. This results from the fact that the drinking vessel holder has a larger installation depth for accommodating a suitable drinking vessel and hence provides less space for the relevant foam body providing the padding.
In order to solve this problem, document DE 296 19 478 U1 suggests to make provision for a fold-out mechanism including an additional holder. In response to an appropriate fold-out action, the additional holder is positioned above the arm rest, whereas the receptacle having a reduced depth is positioned within the arm rest. This solution, in turn, is afflicted with the disadvantage that a complicated kinematic mechanism is required to realize a suitable holder. By the same token, suitable holders are prone to potential damage, because these holders are manifestly raised above the arm rest surface and hence constitute an obstacle.